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BULLETIN: Facebook announces on “Today” that it has passed 1 billion users, one-seventh of the world’s population. The billionth friend, not yet identified by Facebook, joined Sept. 14. The median age of new users that week was about 22.

THE BIG QUESTION: Romney rocked for 90 minutes. Can he sustain it for the next month?

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, at the top of “Today”: “Can one night change the race?”

--David Axelrod, from Denver, to Savannah: “Governor Romney had put more preparation into it than they did into the invasion of Normandy. … I expected a strong performance. I got a strong performance. But that’s what it was: a performance.”

TODD S. PURDUM, on VanityFair.com: “When Obama spoke, Romney smiled indulgently—his visage, and his luxuriously pomaded hair, an echo of Ronald Reagan’s—while Obama furrowed his brow, looked down and took notes whenever Romney had the floor. It was Obama who flailed, and in that sense alone, failed.” http://vnty.fr/PYvktG

JON MEACHAM, on “Morning Joe,” re Romney: “You could argue, except for President Reagan -- Governor Reagan then -- it was, in fact, the strongest Republican debate performance in the history of televised debates.”

--Mike Barnicle: “Which Romney goes out into the country today – the Romney of last night, or the Romney of the past two months?”

--New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, in phoner with “Joe”: “Knockout.”

JONATHAN MARTIN and JOHN F. HARRIS, “Mitt Romney wins a reprieve”: “Romney’s performance has chased away the aroma of terminal illness that was starting to emanate from his campaign and the increasingly restive factions in and around his operation. He has given conservatives a performance to rally behind, likely stalled any effort by GOP moneymen to start directing money away from the presidential race in favor of congressional races, and, not least, bolstered his own self-confidence after weeks of painful stubbed toes and jeering commentary.

“Whether he gets more than this minimum payoff is far from certain, given the deficit he was facing in both national polls and … several must-win swing states. Some supporters hoped he would immediately turn the debate into television commercials. Nearly all said he must channel the elements that made his Denver performance impressive—in particular, sharpening the contrast with Obama through a forward-looking policy message—in the next two presidential debates and in his daily events.” http://politi.co/UgLT9n

JIM VANDEHEI, last night on “POLITICO Live”: “It’s the Mitt Romney that Republicans have been pining for.”

KARL ROVE, to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News: “Romney was presidential. He had humor. WHO KNEW he had a sense of humor?”

MIKE MURPHY, to Charlie Rose on PBS, re Obama supporters: “They're going to take to the streets and burn a Prius.”

PLAYBOOK FACTS OF LIFE -- ROMNEY’S REINVENTION: Mitt Romney came into night viewed by the media, many top conservatives and lots of voters as a hapless, rich candidate unable to connect with the concerns of normal people or connect the dots on how he govern differently than Obama. Make no mistake: For 90 minutes, he was the cool candidate -- crisp in his vision, and sincere about his capacity to protect the middle class and jobless. He was the Romney his friends have long described but the public has rarely seen. THIS WILL BE HARD TO SUSTAIN. His challenge ahead is to sell what amounts to a radical makeover. The best way to understand the challenge ahead is to consider his weaknesses coming in, and how he attacked each one:

1) The $10,000 bettor: The relative strength of Obama ads versus the weakness of Romney ads left Romney looking wildly rich and wildly out of touch. He attacked this weakness by saying “middle class” again and again, and repeating constantly his refrain that the rich would not do any better tax-wise under his plan. Romney needs to keep sounding Bill Clinton.

2) Unfocused, unclear: Romney's own allies were confused about their boss's vision for the country heading into the debate. But he left viewers with the sense that he would cut middle class taxes, create jobs and change Medicare only for those 55 and younger. His ads and stump speech now need to match his performance in consistency and clarity. The ad team, in the eyes of conservatives, has done a lousy job of this to date.

3) He gets me: Romney struggles with many voting demographics – suburban women, especially -- because he rarely leave an audience feeling he understands what it's like to struggle or worry. He did only a modest job of this last night -- and needs desperately to connect his debate performance to a broader pitch that he is the cure for what ails the country and individual voters. It will take a sustained transformation to complete a true reinvention.

STATE OF PLAY: Romney had the night of his life at the Denver debate, with superior data and presentation on question after question, while President Obama sounded pedantic and looked petulant. Rarely has there been such a gulf in the performance of the two candidate in a presidential debate, nor such a swift and widespread consensus after a debate. Andrew Sullivan blogged an hour in: “I find myself bored silly by Obama. If I am bored silly by this wonkish lecture, … Obama's in trouble.” A friend emailed: “It's like Obama is annoyed he's been president for the past 4 years.” Afterward, Bill Maher tweeted: “Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter.”

DEBATE PREP was the MANHATTAN PROJECT of this campaign, and you could see the intentionality: Address the president directly. Tick through clear points: 1, 2, 3.

ROMNEY EVEN WON WITH PEOPLE WHO HAD THE SOUND TURNED DOWN: When it wasn’t his turn, he mostly looked at the president. The split screen often showed Obama looking down, even when Romney took a crack at him.

The Obama camp conceded the style points to Romney, but insisted he had created problems for himself on substance. An Obama official wrote that Romney “continues to fail the details test -- tax cuts, replacing Obamacare, replacing Wall Street reform – [and] doubled down on the big economic ideas that crashed the economy.” Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager, said in a statement: “Mitt Romney spent the night on the defensive … and got testy when he was pushed on specifics.” But a debate veteran who is a close friend to top Democrats emailed: “Obama was unenergetic, removed -- almost wimpy. Made speeches, did not engage and got cleanly beat. Missed countless opportunities to question Romney's facts.” Chris Matthews, one of a parade of shell-shocked pundits on MSNBC, asked: “Where was Obama tonight?”

The psychological boost to the Romney campaign was potentially transformational, mainly because the friendly fire from the right has been quieted, at least for now. A top Bush official emails: “Two words no one will mention again: Bob Dole.” A Republican closely involved in the race adds: “[T]his debate will be seen as a very real reset button in the 2012 campaign. The picture Obama has been painting of Romney with negative TV ads for the last six months was torn down, and … replaced with the image of a strong leader who deeply understands the economy. … Polls will move -- they were tightening before this even happened.” Scott Reed, top Republican strategist: “Romney was in total command … facts, solutions and presentation. Obama was a diminished man.”

The challenge now for the Romney campaign will be to capitalize on this remarkable moment, with a smarter campaign and surer advertising. A Romney official tells us to look for more spots with Romney speaking to camera. And a top Republican official emails from Denver: “I think voters will now be more receptive to hearing more about Mitt's plans for the next four year years.” And one top Romney adviser emailed: “The campaign needs to … move to offense on the President's failure. And be as tough as Mitt on defending Mitt's proposals.”

** A message from Walmart: What’s on the minds of Walmart Moms? Bi-partisan research about what matters most to this critical group of swing voters shows a strong interest in the debate, a desire for real details and a focus on the economy, education and healthcare. Watch their reaction to last night’s debate at www.walmartmomsresearch.com **

NEW THIS A.M. --In a video called, “Mitt Romney: What a Guy,” DNC splices together clips of an aggressive Romney tussling with moderator Jim Lehrer, along with some commentary from St. David Brooks http://bit.ly/RCFemc

--Romney campaign releases a candidate-to-camera add, “Many Americans”: “Too many Americans today are struggling, living paycheck to paycheck. More Americans live in poverty than when President Obama took office. We should measure our compassion by how many of our fellow Americans are able to get good paying jobs -- not by how many are on welfare. My economic plan will get America back to work and strengthen the middle class. I’m Mitt Romney. I approve this message because we can’t AFFORD another four years like the last four years.” http://bit.ly/VknaAo

MITT ROMNEY’s zingers: “Under the president's policies, middle-income Americans have been buried [rubbing the president’s nose in Biden’s gaffe] … They're just being crushed. Middle-income Americans have seen their income come down by $4,300. … I'll call it the economy tax. It's been crushing. The same time, gasoline prices have doubled under the president, electric rates are up, food prices are up, health care costs have gone up by $2,500 a family. Middle-income families are being crushed. …

“Look, I got five boys. I'm used to people saying something that's not always true, but just keep on repeating it and ultimately hoping I'll believe it. … What things would I cut from spending? … Obamacare is on my list. I apologize, Mr. President. I use that term with all respect. … [To moderator Jim Lehrer, executive editor of PBS ‘NewsHour’:] I’m sorry, Jim. I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS. … I like PBS. I love Big Bird. I actually like you too. But … I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it. …

“[Y]ou said you get a deduction for getting a plant overseas. Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant. … [W]hat we're seeing right now is, in my view, a trickle-down government approach.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “[F]or 18 months, he's been running on this tax plan. And now, five weeks before the election, he's saying that his big, bold idea is: ‘Never mind’ … [I]t is not possible to come up with enough deductions and loopholes that only affect high-income individuals to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class. … It's math. It's arithmetic. …

“I have become fond of this term, Obamacare. [Laughter] … [F]our years ago when I was running for office I was traveling around and having those same conversations that Governor Romney talks about. … I had five seconds before you interrupted me.”

UP NEXT: A week from tonight, ABC’s Martha Raddatz moderates the vice presidential debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky. The second presidential debate (town-meeting format) will be Tue., Oct. 16, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. (Long Island), moderated by CNN’s Candy Crowley; and the grand finale, focusing on foreign policy, will be Mon., Oct. 22, at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., moderated by CBS’s Bob Schieffer.

TODAY’S ACTION, per AP: “Obama campaigns in Denver at 12:05 p.m.; Biden campaigns in Council Bluffs, Iowa, at 2:15 p.m.; Romney and Ryan campaign in Fishersville, Va., at 6:45 p.m.”

TOP STORY – “Turkey strikes back at Syria, says will protect borders” – Reuters/Akcakale, Turkey: “Turkish artillery hit targets near Syria's Tel Abyad border town for a second day on Thursday, killing several Syrian soldiers according to activists and security sources, after a mortar bomb fired from the area killed five Turkish civilians. Turkey's government said ‘aggressive action’ against its territory by Syria's military had become a serious threat to its national security and sought parliamentary approval for the deployment of Turkish troops beyond its borders. … NATO said it stood by member-nation Turkey and urged Syria to put an end to ‘flagrant violations of international law.’ …

“Washington sees Turkey as a pivotal player in backing Syria's opposition and planning for the post-Assad era. The White House said on Wednesday it stood by ‘our Turkish ally.’ … Some 30,000 people have been killed across Syria, activists say, in a conflict with growing sectarian overtones which threatens to draw in regional Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite powers.”

--Twitter: “Denver Debate Most-Tweeted U.S. Political Event Ever … In just the 90 minutes the candidates were on stage, [the] debate generated more than 10.3 million Tweets. That handily tops the 9.5 millon Tweets measured across the several days of the Democratic Convention last month, or the about 4 million Tweets of the Republican Convention. The most-tweeted moment came shortly before 10 p.m. EDT, with 158,690 Tweets being sent in a single minute following moderator Jim Lehrer's ‘Let's not’ reply to Governor Romney. This peak was more than three times the roughly 52,000 Tweets per minute political record observed at the end of President Obama's convention speech.”

INSTANT POLLS:

--Frank Luntz dial group: “24 undecided voters in Denver: 13 voted for Obama in 2008, 10 for McCain, 1 was a non-voter. Romney won every segment except entitlements and healthcare -- where he tied. Romney dominated the opening of the debate with his 5-point plan and the close of the debate with his appeal to bi-partisanship. His strongest moments came when he talked about creating jobs. Obama's strongest moments came when he talked about what was Romney hiding by not being specific. In the end, 9 participants went from undecided to declared: 8 to Romney and only 1 to Obama. … Both dial groups had the same reactions, though the NY group game the victory to Romney by 15 to 10. The Denver group gave it to Romney by 18 to 6.”

--Walmart Moms: “On behalf of Walmart, Public Opinion Strategies and Momentum Analysis conducted a dial session of 30 Walmart Moms during the presidential debate and three break-out discussion groups following the debate, with one group among Latina Walmart Moms only. … Walmart Moms in Las Vegas saw tonight’s debate either as win for Romney or a tie between the two candidates. None thought Obama won this evening.” http://bit.ly/Vksynd

SENATE SCRAMBLE – CONN. TIED, per Quinnipiac release this a.m.: “The Connecticut U.S. Senate race is essentially tied up, with 48 percent of likely voters for Republican Linda McMahon and 47 percent for Democratic U.S. Rep. Christopher Murphy, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.”

HAPPENING TODAY: At the State Department, Sage Steele, co-host of ESPN's “SportsCenter,” will emcee an event honoring the international women in sports and their American mentors who participated in the first-ever State Department and espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program. Assistant Secretary Ann Stock will host event, featuring ESPN CFO Christine Driessen. http://1.usa.gov/SES2or

SPORTS BLINK – MLB PLAYOFFS – “A's win AL West, Yanks take AL East, pairings set,” by AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker: “Coco Crisp settled under the final fly ball, and the Oakland Athletics started charging onto the field like a bunch of Little Leaguers chasing an ice cream truck after a big win. … These young A's had done it, sweeping Texas to win a most improbable AL West title on the last day of the regular season. … The playoffs begin Friday with a pair of winner-take-all wild-card matchups. The defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals visit Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves in the NL, then Baltimore plays at Texas. …

“After so much talk about the new, expanded postseason format that added two teams, the AL came out exactly how it would've last year. The Rangers and Orioles finished with the same record, so they're playing one game to decide it.”

** A message from Walmart: Although some moms are undecided in their vote for the first time ever, most of the women we spoke with have a long history of being "swing voters." They say picking a candidate can be agonizing because they are rarely aligned with one side or the other on all the issues. At the end of the day, they make their voting choice based on who they think can best meet their needs/represent them as moms. Cathy from Columbus, OH puts it this way: “I've become more that way [swing voter] over the years. Now, as I've gotten older things have changed in the economy. As you get older you get wiser and I want the person who I believe in their policies. I don't care which party you are if I believe in your policies."

Readers' Comments (9)

I think The President thought that by allowing Romney to go on and on he would end up burying himself. He did with some of his lies. This was a whole "New"Romney. there is the one who speaks to just his base and one behind closed doors and now this new one.

i don't think one night should make any difference. However, The President needs to be much stronger.

The President is running the Country and Campaigning while the Unemployed Romney is just campaigning. His wife even said that they feel that campaigning is hard. If campaigning is hard what does he think running. The country will be like. Oh that's right.... Others will run it like they did when Bush Was in office.

BTW... Does Romney have new veneers on his teeth. They certainly look a little larger and whiter then before. With all of the smiling he was doing it was somewhat obvious to tell.

With a race so close, it’s my sensing that the media (Politico included) would be carping, “IT’S OVER!” had Romney done as poorly as the Prez. One of the best media retorts I heard was from Alex Jones. He commented that the President was too busy running to country to focus on the debate. As for me, I always find that talking about my job is easy. Real easy. The Prez was caught flat footed when Romney cited an 89% democratic legislature that he had to work with…successfully….to get things going in his state. Can the Prez say he really worked with the Republicans? I recall his first meeting w/ conservative media folks and the overwhelming comment was that the Prez was trying to charm them into abandoning principles. Folks…nobody’s that charming. Speaking of charm, that’s taken the Prez about as far as it can. Frankly, he wasn’t charming last night. I can’t wait till he tries to charm folks when it comes to race relations, foreign relations, law enforcement and the like. Not a good tale to tell.

….and DSR…….I hesitate to call your comments on Romney shallow……but frankly, I could have said equally that the Prez looked sallow and enervated. That would be true….but irrelevant. Why are you offended or even interested that Romney combed his hair and brushed his teeth prior to appearing in front of 40 million people? That’s just plain common sense and decency. As to your other point, you are right. The President needs to be much stronger. Unfortunately, he needed to do that about 4 years ago. I believe he’s so vain that he can’t find room in his world for other opinions. I believe that he thought waging a charm campaign against fundamentalist Islam would work….and it didn’t….and didn’t spectacularly. You complain that Romney’s had an easy run. Frankly, having been a business person for 30 years, I’ll tell you…I look with a measure of fondness at government jobs. I risk getting fired every day. Can folks like Obama say the same? The Presidency is the only hard job he ever had. He hasn’t done it well. Romney has actually worked for how own money. The Prez has made a career of spending other people’s money. Tell me I’m wrong…..but then…Prove It!

“[Y]ou said you get a deduction for getting a plant overseas. Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant. … [W]hat we're seeing right now is, in my view, a trickle-down government approach.” Why is this not concidered a Gaff. Romny is basicaly admitting to sending american jobs over seas, with a giggle?

“[Y]ou said you get a deduction for getting a plant overseas. Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant. … [W]hat we're seeing right now is, in my view, a trickle-down government approach.” Oh so you have out sourced? Gaff?

Mort......is off-shoring a crime? We outsourced Olympic uniforms and some Army gear overseas. Is 'that' a crime? Do you remember when the government awarded the contract for the AirForce's new refueler to Airbus? Was 'that' a crime? As I recall, it took John McCain to call that out and stop the stupidity of it. Somehow, it eluded the government's notice that AirBus...unlike Boeing or other American companies...had never built an in-flight refueler. Two lessons here that both support Romney:

1. Intelligent outsourceing is...intelligent. If you want jobs stitching uniforms at $8.50 and hour and will call the economic success...I want no part of your plan. I don't think Romney does either. He wants and can hopefully deliver higher wage jobs. Obama clearly can't. If you think he can...prove it.

2. When the government outsources, it almost always does it stupidly. That's an argument for smaller government....and that's Mitt Romney's position. Do you think outsourceing a refueling aircraft for the military to someone who never built one is very smart? Prove that one too. It took a Republican to stop that shenanigans.

NZ......Yes...so right. It would be nice is everything was perfect with the debates. Likewise with the world. Alas, it ain't so. When pitched the same set of circumstances....and I think we can agree that they both had the same opportunities......one guy won. Depending on who you listen to....it was a big win..or a cheat...or a fluke...or whatever. Bottom line is....the Prez lost. What do you imagine the Prez would say about green energy if offered the chance to expound upon it? He would talk policy....and in order to make it worthwhile, someone would have to talk 'results'. In fact, I think it's a better idea to ask the Prez to defend his administration, and Romney to refute that defense. That's not a really fair playing field, but the Prez has the job. He needs to defend it. I simply think he can't. Romney was correct when he said that thus far, the Prez doesn't pick winners and losers...he just picks losers.

Look….I wouldn’t want my guy to lose either. Losing sucks. By that I mean..it’s non-fun. There are at least 8 things I’d rather do than lose. Ooops…wait…fact-check…there are actually 11 things I’d rather do than lose. ……so I was wrong. It’s about the same degree of wrongness that the fact checkers pointed out about Romney’s assertion that health care costs had gone up $2500 under Obama Care. Silly him. It was actually only $1700. I feel much better….except that they were supposed to go down. The expensive part of that beast hasn’t even kicked in yet. What do you folks of the left think will happen when that occurs? Buehler? Ferris Buehler? Well….absent Mathew Broderick showing up…I’ll tell you: Costs will increase. Know what will happen if Obama raises taxes? Rich people will hide their money. Duuuuhhhhh. And in keeping the the Prez’ comments about mathematics….that means that revenues will go down. So……I know that for some of you this Presidency has been like the Long March (Read some history on that one) to Xanadu……but for some of us, it’s been like trying to claw our way out of the 7th circle of hell……when the Government’s building more rings. Worse yet, it’s harder to destroy than the One Ring that Bound Them All. In the right lighting, DC does kinda resemble Mordor. So…..LOTR references aside, we need to cast the ring that is this Administration into the fires of Mount Doom….and get on with the Age of Man. Real Men. Not the wussies that think that Romney was too harsh on the President. OMG! Can you imagine!